His Eminence, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb, has served as the Grand Imam and Shaykh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif since March 2010, following the passing of his predecessor, Shaykh Dr Muhammad Sayyid al-Tantawi. Before this appointment, he led Al-Azhar University as its President for seven years and was previously Egypt’s Grand Mufti for two years.

A distinguished intellectual figure in Sunni Islam, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb’s scholarly contributions have earned him global recognition. He has held prominent academic positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Aswan and Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the International Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan. He earned a PhD in Islamic Philosophy from La Sorbonne University in Paris, France. 

Since becoming Grand Imam, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb has prioritised the promotion of traditional Islamic thought. He has reinstated the teaching of all four Sunni schools of jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University and emphasised the importance of Islamic heritage education. Al-Azhar graduates are seen as ambassadors of Islam worldwide. In his role as leader of the World Organization for Al-Azhar Graduates, he advocates for moderation, outreach, and strengthening connections with alumni globally.

As head of Al-Azhar, the world’s oldest continuously operating university since its founding in 975 CE, Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb oversees a key institution of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence and education. Al-Azhar has issued authoritative religious rulings and educated generations of Egyptian and international scholars for over a millennium, earning its status as a bastion of Sunni Islamic learning.

Today, Al-Azhar University is the largest in the world. It has grown from three schools in the 1950s to 72 feeder schools and nearly 300,000 students enrolled at any given time. Including the schools supported by Al-Azhar Waqf initiatives, the total number of students approaches two million. This vast network and its historical significance make the leadership of Al-Azhar a position of immense academic and spiritual influence.

Despite his extensive responsibilities, Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyeb remains a prolific academic, frequently publishing on the reception of Islamic culture and philosophy in the Western world. 

In February 2019, the Grand Imam and Pope Francis of the Vatican signed a historic declaration of fraternity, calling for peace between nations, religions, and races. This landmark event was witnessed by global religious leaders of various faiths. Dr Ahmad al-Tayyeb remarked: “Al-Azhar and the Muslim Council of Elders, in partnership with the Catholic Church and other Western and Eastern churches, alongside other religious institutions, strive to revive a culture of dialogue and encounter among followers of different religions, fostering peace and harmonious coexistence.”